


Unsaid

by frankenjoly



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Borderlands: Borderlands 2, But kinda RP compliant I guess?, F/M, Missing Scene, Not completely canon compliant, Post-Borderlands 2, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frankenjoly/pseuds/frankenjoly
Summary: Here goes another "I want angst but not too much", fused with "I could do this as a RP solo but let's make it longer and elaborate more on that", which are two of my main motivations for writing. Also, this comes fueled by the oncoming DLC hype. So... here's Maya dealing with going back to Athenas and processing Feelings.
Relationships: Krieg/Maya (Borderlands)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Unsaid

Going back to Athenas was probably going to be the hardest thing Maya had ever done, only tied to what had happened in the Bunker and… leaving Athenas, precisely.

First of all, making the decision itself. She didn’t want to come back, not even for all of the abbey’s books and hidden secrets the siren was positive had never been told by Sophis or any monk. Ironic, because said books and secrets were one of her two main reasons to go. If they had been lying about the part she was playing when raising her, what else had they lied about? Not only that, but if the head monk had seemed to quite know what to do when training her (though he hadn’t been the best or most caring teacher), there must be stuff she had been missing out.

The second reason was, when leaving, she had left all the people in Athenas behind and defenseless from whatever the order wanted to pull off then. Yes, it was a lot of people, who could face a bunch of monks who had sworn not to turn to violence, but that didn’t make her trust them more. Even with Sophis dead, there still could be a monk, or a group, up to manipulate people and get advantage of them.

When choosing to go away in search of adventure and answers, Maya had chosen to leave everyone in the hands of the Impending Storm, and had done it knowingly. So, whatever had happened, it was partly her responsibility, and fixing it was the less she could do.

That was why she had decided to go alone, too, after a long deliberation.

Athenas was her problem, and dragging the others to it didn’t seem completely fair, plus they had other things to do and problems as well. So… it seemed, not pointless, but… asking too much to them.

Still, she had to gather the courage to tell them, which didn’t happen till… well, after almost being blown up when Lilith finished getting rid of that Hector guy and his plant apocalypse attempt.

They had all gathered in Moxxi’s improvised bar and were part celebrating, part having a break after everything that had been going on, tired but with hope.

“Hey, guys…” Nails tipping over the table and overall awkwardness, it was crystal clear she didn’t want to do it. But the decision was made, and it wasn’t just about her, but all the Athenians.

“Is something wrong?” Axton raised his eyebrows, and exchanged a brief look with Gaige, who clearly had been about to ask the same, before glancing back at Maya.

“It’s probably the worst moment to do this, but, after what Lilith said about more Vaults across the galaxy and all, well… I’ve decided, and it’s not for… forever… but… I’m going back to…”

Though the possibility had been there, and pretty much almost everyone else in that table, even in that room, had thought about it… saying it hadn’t completely crossed their minds till then wouldn’t be lying.

“Have you…?” Tried to ask Salvador, but his question died under the noise of Krieg suddenly getting up from his seat and hurrying away.

“NO!”

Everyone turned their eyes to him leaving, including Maya’s, who was starting to tear up, but held it after a few seconds of deep breathing and intense blinking. Crying in public was something she did very rarely. Old habit from the abbey, which hadn’t gone in two years with the Raiders, as trying to maintain the fearless siren facade tended to keep the spirits up, even when Lilith had been gone.

“Sorry, I…” She stared at where he had gone for a bit more, and then looked back at the others, a heavy and implicit plea in her eyes.

“C’mon, go.” Encouraged Gaige, nodding. “We ain’t moving for a while.”

Maya then wiped her eyes, which weren’t going to stay dry for long, with both her hands. Then, simply nodded back at her, then muttered an ‘ _tell you later_ ’, even when everyone already knew, and stood up to rush in the same direction Krieg had gone.

“Wait! Please!”

* * *

As expected, telling him had hurted more than being shot multiple times in a row, and since she came to that planet, there had been more than enough experience with that.

Not like the successive goodbyes to the others weren’t equally painful, but at least she hadn’t ended up as unsatisfied as that one time.

There were a lot of things she wanted to tell him, but everything got stuck in her throat when trying. Could blame the nervousness, the sadness, the tears, and the lack of experience expressing certain stuff out loud, but it had been… not a disaster of a last conversation before parting, but not how she wanted it to go, at least when it came to herself.

‘ _You can… come with me if you want._ ’

‘ _I don’t really, really wanna go. But I have to do this._ ’

‘ _I think I… have feelings for you. I… I know I do. It’s just… first time and… other issues. But I’m not leaving you behind. And I… wanted you to know._ ’

Those were things she had intended to tell Krieg, apart from the things she had indeed said, but failed. And now, halfway back to Athenas, Maya still regretted not doing so.

Well, at least she had managed to get something, to emphasize how important that journey was, for what she could learn about sirens and for her birth planet’s people.

At least she could, and did promise to go back.

But as proud as she could be to manage saying that, it didn’t seem enough. Hell, even the promise, the most definitive vow Maya could have made in regards of meeting again, didn’t feel enough when there was so much left to say.

She felt… to say it softly, like a damn coward, only having the promise to hold on to instead of… Instead of what?

Even if she had actually said it all, the siren didn’t have total guarantee of him giving an affirmative answer. Not about going to Athenas with her, and not about returning her feelings either. They sure had gotten close since their first encounter, and maybe said encounter could count as a signal, plus a not precisely small bunch of bonding moments that had happened during the following two years since then, but who could tell?

Honestly, thinking about that, maybe someone _could tell_ , as Gaige had been more than sure there was something between them (and that’s how she had ended up telling the mechromancer) but definitely not her. Being raised in an abbey no less, could make you miss a lot of life experience, like, in general. And the way she had been raised in particular, mostly focused in training her siren powers and combat abilities, with little contact with the exterior world, sure had had that effect on her. Maya didn’t need to bet on it.

Not only Maya wasn’t sure about what Krieg's reaction would be, also she hadn’t been sure of her own feelings till a lot of time had passed, and it included both if said feelings were there and their nature. Because, yes, there was stuff about herself and attraction she had completely figured out not so long ago and could or couldn't influence the possible outcomes. And it added up to the reason why she hadn’t dared to say anything before leaving: fear of rejection.

A heartbreak may not be the end of the fucking world, she knew, but knowing didn’t change anything. And it being the first time, after twenty-seven years of almost total isolation from the world, made her experience very limited even at that point. Which, of course, only made her worries worse.

That did obviously mean she had deeply regretted not saying it since the very moment she went away.

‘ _Call me stupid, call me shy..._ ’

Her only consolation by then? It was going to be temporary, that for sure.

Once Maya had gotten everything done in Athenas, she intended to be back, as promised, and was holding onto the promise as if she could drown and it was her only lifesaver.

No completely devoting her life to the Impending Storm again, oh no. It was _her goddamn life_ , and wasn't going to let it go.

She refused.

* * *

“Hey…” Maya said, a bit awkwardly, directing her voice to her ECHO device. “Just got here. Had to deal with the monks at first and stuff, but… it went better than I expected? Which means it was terrible and incredibly draining, but nothing better than classic phaselock and load to put them in line. I even got myself the fanciest room in here. It has a bookshelf and all, a big luxury outside the library.”

She wasn't exaggerating, because as humble as it was, it was better than the average room in the whole abbey. Even fancier than her old room, which she had insisted in keeping closed.

“Some of them are respectful and all, but others don't seem precisely happy to see me.” Said, maintaining a tight grip on the pillow she was holding with the hand that wasn't occupied with the ECHO. “Not like I didn't expect it, but…”

The siren, who had been pacing around the room till that exact moment, let herself softly collapse on the bed, staring at the ceiling wishing to be somewhere else instead no matter how good the first day it had seemed to be.

“Honestly? If I had a way to know these bitches aren't gonna mess something up the second I turn my back, I'd already be planning my trip back to Pandora.” 

She exhaled deeply, and continued.

“First searching through the whole damn abbey to find any secrets they haven't told me, with using a bit of persuasion with the monks just in case…” And said persuasion meant pointing at them with a gun in her right hand, and a forming phaselock in the left. “Then pack the books I'm definitely keeping, and go.”

Those books had already been stored in the room, kept in the bookshelf and table, alongside a big bunch of pics from her and her friends. All except one, which was attached to her hip and would stay there till bedtime, when Maya was planning to put them under the pillows.

“I can't just do it, 'cause there's a lot to do here, but…” Tears started running down her face. “I miss you all. I miss you, big guy. And I…”

She was interrupted by a knock on the door, when the woman didn't even try to hide an exasperated sigh and wiped the tears. Instead of going to open it, or announcing she would go out in a few minutes, stayed glancing at the screen for a while more.

“Gotta go, I guess. But I'm spending like, all nights alone here, so… Dunno, maybe you're up to talk. I mean, this is talking, but… Not just messages. A call.”

Another knock on the door, and Maya muttered a curse under her breath right after finishing the message and tapping the button to deliver it.

She was definitely sending another as soon as she was really alone, and hoped he replied back.

**Author's Note:**

> Didn't include the full goodby scene, but as it's basically where /the ECHO/ happens, I didn't wanna get repetitive?
> 
> Also yeah, anything about Maya written by me means ace Maya, more or less explicitely.
> 
> Also also: the DLC make this non canon-compliant for A Reason (still fits RP-wise), but for once I'm not complaining about having a headcanon broken by canon content.


End file.
